NY District Attorney’s Office Drops Charges Against Ovidio Guzman a Week Before He Formalizes Guilty Plea in Chicago

‘El Ratón’, as he is known, is the son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.

The United States Attorney’s Office in New York announced that it has dismissed the drug trafficking charges it filed against Ovidio Guzmán López, alias El Ratón, son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán, following the formal guilty plea to drug trafficking charges in a Chicago, Illinois, court next week.

The dismissal of the charges in New York marks a new chapter in the complex judicial framework surrounding Ovidio Guzmán since his second arrest in January 2023 in the community of Jesús María, in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

The capture of El Chapo’s son followed an operation by the Mexican Armed Forces that sparked a brief but intense day of violence.

He was transferred to the maximum-security federal prison known as El Altiplano, from where a lengthy legal battle began to block his extradition to the United States.

That fight ended on September 15, 2023, when he was finally handed over to US authorities.

Days later, on September 18, he appeared for the first time before a court in the Northern District of Illinois, where he was informed of the charges against him: drug trafficking, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, money laundering, membership in a continuing criminal organization, and use of firearms.

At that first hearing, Guzmán López pleaded not guilty.

From Culiacanazo to Extradition

Before his capture in 2023, Ovidio Guzmán had already been targeted by Mexican and US authorities. The first attempt to arrest him dates back to October 17, 2019, in what became known as the Culiacanazo.

That day, in a failed operation in the capital of Sinaloa, soldiers managed to capture him, but were overwhelmed by the violence generated by the Sinaloa Cartel, forcing the federal government, led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to release the kingpin to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.

During the months following his extradition, Ovidio Guzmán and his legal team—led by attorney Jeffrey Lichtman—began negotiations with the US Attorney’s Office to reach an agreement that would avoid a full trial and, thus, reduce the severity of a potential sentence.

The talks gained momentum in 2024, when it was discovered that Guzmán López had been removed from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) registry, sparking rumors about his possible collaboration with the United States government.

Despite speculation, the then-Secretary of Public Safety and Citizen Protection, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, publicly clarified that the change was due to a modification of the precautionary measure and that El Ratón remained in US custody.

Finally, in May 2025, journalist Arturo Ángel reported that Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman had been notified of the cancellation of the hearing scheduled for May 12, as a plea agreement had been reached.

As part of the agreement, it was established that Ovidio Guzmán will appear again before the Northern District of Illinois Court on July 9, where he is expected to formalize his guilty plea.

Source: Milenio